SAN DIEGO, Calif., November 7, 2023 — VedaBio, the biotechnology company leading a paradigm-shift in molecular detection, today announced the formation of its scientific advisory board (SAB) comprised of world class academic and industry experts Rashid Bashir, PhD, Daniel Durocher, PhD, Patrick Hsu, PhD and David Perlin, PhD.
VedaBio launched in October with initial funding of over $40 Million backed by lead investor OMX Ventures and unveiled the CRISPR Cascade™, a revolutionary platform that unlocks the true power of CRISPR for molecular detection by delivering near-instant detection of highly multiplexed analytes with best-in-class accuracy, all without the need for target amplification.
“The deep expertise of Dr. Bashir, Dr. Durocher, Dr. Hsu and Dr. Perlin is instrumental to our scientific progress and the further development of our disruptive CRISPR Cascade platform,” said Anurup Ganguli, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of VedaBio. “Our SAB is collaborating closely with our entire team as we create a fundamental new model in the field of molecular detection.”
Dr. Bashir is the Co-Founder of VedaBio and was recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine. He has held numerous roles at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, currently serving as the Dean of the Grainger College of Engineering and Grainger Distinguished Chair in Bioengineering. At Illinois he was on the founding team of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. An Academic Co-Founder of Prenosis, Bashir previously served as a Senior Engineering Manager at National Semiconductor, held a visiting position at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Center for Engineering and Medicine, and was on the faculty at Purdue University. He is an expert in BioMEMS and biomedical nanotechnology with countless contributions to the field, having co-authored over 300 journal papers and has been granted 55 patents. Bashir received his PhD and his MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and his BS in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University.
Dr. Durocher is the Chair of VedaBio’s SAB and currently serving as Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Co-Founder and SAB member of Repare Therapeutics (NASDAQ: RPTX) and Co-Founder of Induxion Therapeutics. A Full Professor at the University of Toronto, his work in molecular genetics has been recognized by the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research, the Canadian Cancer Society’s Young Investigator Prize, and Caldwell Partners Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award. Durocher received his PhD in Experimental Medicine from McGill University and his BSc from Université de Montréal.
Dr. Hsu is Co-Founder of the Arc Institute and Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Deb Faculty Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. Previously, he served as Principal Investigator at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In his time at Harvard University and the Broad institute, Hsu helped to pioneer CRISPR-Cas9 technologies for genome editing. His research group has invented multiple diagnostic and therapeutic technologies, including programmable RNA targeting and detection with CRISPR-Cas13 and multi-kilobase genome insertion with recombinases. He has been recognized in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 lists, and received the NIH Early Independence Award, the Amgen Young Investigator Award, and the Rainwater Prize for Innovative Early Career Scientists for his research. Hsu received his PhD in Biochemistry and Biological Engineering and his AM in Biology from Harvard University.
Dr. Perlin, a highly accomplished biomedical researcher widely recognized throughout the industry for his innovative and entrepreneurial leadership, is currently serving as Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President at Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation. Dr. Perlin and colleagues developed a number of innovative technologies used in diagnostics platforms today, which forms the core technology of many molecular detection methods including PCR. He has published more than 350 journal articles and reviews and leads two NIH national centers of excellence addressing countermeasures to high-threat pathogens. He was named Outstanding Scientist in New Jersey by the Edward J. Ill Excellence in Medicine Awards in 2020, a Top 25 National Innovator by Modern Healthcare in 2021, a top 25 Notable Health Care Leader by Crain’s New York Business in 2022 and was awarded the 2023 Dr. Sol J. Barer Award for Vision Innovation and Leadership. Perlin received his PhD in Plant Physiology from Cornell University.
“The CRISPR Cascade fundamentally changes the way we think about molecular detection,” says Dr. Durocher, Chair of the SAB. “I am particularly excited by the universe of applications in therapeutics, diagnostics and industrial markets that can and will benefit from the near-digital molecular detection engine that is the CRISPR Cascade.”
About VedaBio
VedaBio is revolutionizing molecular biology with its breakthrough platform for near-instant molecular detection of multiplexed analytes, delivering best-in-class accuracy without the need for target amplification. Our CRISPR Cascade™ platform is poised to emerge as a new gold standard tool to empower decision-making across multiple industries. Learn more at vedabio.com.
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CG Life
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